


On the Road

by Masked_Man_2



Category: Inkheart (2008)
Genre: Adventure, Animal encounters, Attempt at Humor, Dustfinger can't drive, Extended Scene, Gwin can't drive, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Motion Sickness, Randomness, Road Trips, Sasquatch, Singing, Squirrels, The Folcharts are lawnmowers, car games, lots of mishaps in general, pit stop mishaps, sleeping antics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2097849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masked_Man_2/pseuds/Masked_Man_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you're escaping a villain's village in the middle of a tornado with nothing but 5 people, a marten, and a dilapidated van, the trip's bound to get interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2:00 p.m.- Safe

On the Road Chapter 1: 2:00 p.m.- Safe 

 

The van crunched over a piece of wood in the road; it read, “Topeka, Kansas,” but nobody noticed that. Mo’s eyes were fixed firmly on the road ahead, and Dustfinger and Meggie kept glancing anxiously behind them. Elinor was sitting stiffly, obviously frightened, while poor Farid was positively shaking with terror.

 

Suddenly, a shadow passed overhead, seeming to brush the van’s top. “Mo, watch out!” Meggie screamed, and everyone ducked instinctively. Dorothy’s house flew overhead, landing with a solid THUMP on the other side of the escaping vehicle.

 

“Whoa,” Farid whispered.

 

Mo blew out a shaky sigh and decreased his speed slightly. “How much longer until we’re off this road?” he called to Dustfinger.

“Five hundred yards,” the scarred man replied. “After that, we get onto the mountain trails. Capricorn’s men won’t dare to follow us there.”

“Why not?” Meggie asked quietly, watching the surrounding trees fly by. 

“State police patrol there all the time; it’s the closest they’ll get to the village. Capricorn won’t risk his men getting caught.” Dustfinger watched the road for a moment, and nodded grimly. “Speed up,” he told Mo.

Mo turned around to face the man, surprise etched onto his face. “What?”

“There’s a barrier up ahead; we’ve got to go through it. And to do that, you have to speed up.”

“What?!” Mo exclaimed incredulously. “No, if there’s a barrier, we’re going around it!”

“This is a one-lane dirt road, surrounded by forest on both sides!” Dustfinger snapped. “There is no way around!”

“Then we’ll stop and drag it off!”

“No, you have to go straight through!”

“What in the name of Chaucer’s beard are you talking about?!” Elinor burst out, unable to keep silent. “Have you gone right out of your mind?!” Angrily, she jabbed a finger toward the windshield. The barrier, a wooden one that stood at least half the height of the van, was getting alarmingly close.

 

Meggie gasped when she saw it, and shut her eyes tightly. there was no way they could go through that without getting hurt. Dustfinger was insane.

 

Elinor seemed to feel the same way; she grabbed the collar of Dustfinger’s shirt and pulled him in so they were nose-to-nose. “We can’t go through that, you bloody idiot!” she cried. “We’ll be smashed to bits!”

“This van was built to sustain worse damage that that!” Dustfinger replied, shoving Elinor off of him. “This is it!” he shouted to Mo. “Go!”

 

CRASH!

 

Splinters of wood flew everywhere, and Meggie screamed. Mo cursed loudly, speeding away from the broken road-block. Farid hunched over, his hands covering his ears, and Elinor began screaming at Dustfinger, but Meggie didn’t hear a word her aunt said. Instead, she watched the trees, trying to get her heartbeat under control. Mo turned off the wooded road onto a winding, open mountain trail, and Meggie breathed out a sigh of relief. They were safe.


	2. 2:15 p.m.- My Poor Bones!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elinor discovers just how much she hates old vans....

On the Road Chapter 2: 2:15 p.m.- My Poor Bones!

 

Elinor shifted uncomfortably on the hard, cracked seat. It really was pathetic; every time she moved, she could feel the pointed ends of the springs digging into her backside. Every bloody time! It wasn’t pleasant at all; she was about ready to commit murder if this continued for much longer.

 

Hoping to distract herself from her current tribulations, she cast a glance at Mortimer in the front. “So, this writer,” she began crisply. “Where does he live?”

Mo shifted his gaze to her briefly. “He lives in Alassio,” he replied, turning a corner smoothly.

Elinor stretched her back, wincing when it clicked. “Where is that?” she asked, pleased to note the lack of pain in her voice. Heavens above, you should have been an actress, Elinor, she thought. You have a natural gift!

“South.” Mo had turned his eyes back to the road; he was watching it intently, and didn’t elaborate.

“South? Can’t you be more specific?” This time, Elinor couldn’t quite hide the aggravation in her voice.

Mo shrugged apologetically. “Not really. The biographies on the man’s books only say that much: he lives in Alassio, and it’s by the sea.”

“The sea?” Meggie piped up excitedly.

Mo laughed. “Yes, the sea. We won’t have time for a swim, though,” he added, winking at his daughter.

Elinor sniffed superciliously. “I should hope not. We would catch our deaths if we went into that water at this time of year.”

“Probably not,” Dustfinger spoke up abstractedly. “Well….” Then, he muttered something that Elinor couldn’t catch, something that sounded like, “You might, though.”

“What was that?” she asked dangerously.

“Oh, nothing.”

 

X X X 

 

After that, the company drove on in relative peace. Mo and Meggie talked quietly in the front, and sudden bursts of their laughter would occasionally drift back to the others. Dustfinger rested his head against the window and stared outside, while the boy Farid lay curled up beside him in apparent slumber.

 

Elinor watched him in envy. How she wished she could sleep peacefully like that! But no, these blasted seats were too damn hard to induce anything but pain!

 

“Wretched, barbaric characters,” she muttered to herself. “They couldn’t even be bothered to get nice vehicles! Surely they’d rather have something under their behinds that didn’t feel like a thornbush?

“Of course not, Elinor,” she added bitterly. “They’re too bloody stupid to think of things like that!” As if to prove her point, the van bounced over a large pothole, sending jolts of pain through Elinor’s body. “Oh,” she gasped. “My poor bones!”

“Something the matter, Elinor?” Mo called, trying valiantly to hide the mirth in his voice.

“You could try to drive a bit more smoothly,” she snapped back. “My body simply can’t stand this sort of abuse!”

Mo couldn’t suppress his laughter; neither could Meggie. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t think there’s much I can do to ease your pain.”

“Pity, that,” Dustfinger murmured, too quietly for anyone to hear.

“Hmph,” Elinor snorted. With a sigh, she settled back into her seat, cursing Capricorn’s men with every lurch of the van. 

 

X X X 

 

How long this continued, she couldn’t say. In all honesty, it was probably only a few minutes, but it felt like hours to Elinor’s sore bones. Thoroughly annoyed, she uttered a few choice oaths, directing them at Mo, Capricorn’s goons, Dustfinger, the van, even Meggie and the boy. Nothing escaped her wrath at the moment.

 

In the midst of her fit of temper, however, she suddenly got the uneasy feeling of being watched. Silencing herself abruptly, she glanced around the back-seat suspiciously. Sure enough, the cursed fire-juggler was observing her with an alarming lack of discretion, his smoky blue eyes amused.

 

“What are you looking at?” she snapped. “You have no right to watch me!”

“Oh, don’t mind me,” he said quietly. “I was only listening; I wasn’t watching. I would never do that to a woman.”

“Really?” she asked acidly. “I doubt that. At any rate, I am completely justified in expressing my grievances in any way I please.”

Dustfinger waved a casual hand. “But of course,” he replied smoothly. “Carry on.” That said, he leaned back again and closed his eyes. However, Elinor still felt like he was staring at her.

“Don’t you have anything else to do besides listen to me curse?” she asked, perturbed.

“Ah...not really. I’m content to listen to you creak and moan like an old tree. It’s quite amusing, actually.”

Elinor stared at him in shock. The nerve of the man! “You wretched devil,” she hissed. “How dare you speak to me like that?!”

“Hey, hey, easy back there,” Mo called. “Dustfinger, I don’t know what you’re doing, and I don’t care to know, but please leave Elinor alone. She’s uncomfortable enough as it is.”

“Thank you!” Elinor exclaimed, making Farid twitch in his sleep.

Dustfinger shrugged. “As you wish,” he muttered, retreating back into his thoughts. 

 

Elinor tossed her head in satisfaction, forgetting that her hair was tied back. The movement made her neck crack, and she grimaced, gasping. Immediately after, the van went over another pothole, sending another stab of pain through Elinor’s joints. “Heavens above,” she whispered. “My poor bones!”


	3. 2:30 p.m.- Singing in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The song of the rain is a beautiful song indeed....

On the Road Chapter 3: 2:30 p.m.- Singing in the Rain

 

It was uncanny. Only a minute ago, the sky had been blue, and completely cloudless. Now, rain fell hard and fast, striking the roof of the van with an erratic, drum-like rhythm.

 

Meggie stared out of her window, watching the patterns traced by the droplets with a trance-like fascination. There was something almost magical about this sudden storm, something that stirred her young blood and made her think of dark rivers and mythical forests.

 

Elinor did not seem to share her sentiments. “Oh, my giddy aunt,” she muttered, eyeing the wet woods with distaste. “I do hate these little squalls. They always come up at the most inconvenient times.”

“The rain should stop soon,” Mo said confidently. “Storms like these are quite common in these mountainous areas. The warm air has to rise above the mountains, where it meets the cold air in the upper atmosphere. Then, the storms form, but the pressure fronts pass quickly.”

“Heavens, you sound like a meteorology professor,” Elinor grumbled. 

Mo shrugged. “I try,” he joked.

 

Meggie couldn’t suppress a smile. Mo always did this on long trips; made jokes, spouted lessons on the things they saw, commented on the weather. It warmed her heart to see him do this now, despite the gravity of their situation.

 

Still, she thought, it was a bit sad, knowing that the rain would end soon. It was so beautiful: fierce and frenetic, yet oddly calming. It deserved to be put into song….

 

Yes, she mused. A song for the rain. Why not? After all, she did want to be a writer. Making songs just involved fitting the right words together and giving them a tune. How difficult could it be?

 

“Oh, rain that falls,” she began softly,”Wash all the fears away. Your winds are strong...so strong and cold to me….Come gently down...and lighten my-y heart….”

“What is that, meggie?” Mo asked quietly, a soft smile on his rugged face.

Meggie stopped singing and turned to him. “Just something for the rain,” she replied. “It’s so beautiful, don’t you think? It deserves to be sung about.”

“Hmph!” Elinor snorted. “Beautiful is the last thing I would call it.”

 

Mo, however, stared hard at the wet world outside, listening intently to the dwindling patter of the rain. “Yes,” he murmured. “It is beautiful. It’s a sort of music in itself.”

 

As the rain slowed to a drizzle, Meggie continued to hum her little tune. Even when the droplets ceased falling altogether and the sun came out once more, she kept up her little ode, her little song in the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, the song Meggie sings is to the tune of Celtic Legend's 'Lyonesse...' and we all have to love geeky Mo.


	4. 2:45 p.m.- We Need A Pit Stop NOW

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouldn't have drunk all that water, Farid....

On the Road Chapter 4: 2:45 p.m.- We Need A Pit Stop NOW

 

The earth was moving beneath him, with a rumbling, rolling speed. Farid clenched his hands into fists and squeezed his eye shut. An earthquake. He hated these hellish things, almost as much as he hated sandstorms. Any moment now, the captain of the thieves would shout at him to tie up the camels and the provisions, and the thieves would tie themselves together, and Farid would be left to the mercy of the angry ground.

 

When the order didn’t come, though, he opened his eyes, curiosity overruling his instincts, which screamed to keep them shut. Darkness filled his vision, but it wasn’t the velvet darkness of night, or the gritty darkness of a sandstorm. No, this darkness was hard, leathery, and it shifted around like some sort of animal.

 

Startled, Farid turned his head, surprised to find that he was lying down. For a moment, he felt disoriented, unsure of where he was, but the memories returned unbidden, like so many flies to honey. He had been in that strange castle, then in a stable full of monsters, and now he was in some sort of cart that moved without horses, with the four others he’d escaped with. Their names were so strange: Mo, Meggie, Elinor, Dustfinger. They were names that should belong to characters in a story, not flesh-and-blood people.

 

Farid did feel very much like he was in a story, or maybe a dream. This cart-thing, with all its metal decorations...how could something so wonderful possibly exist? The man called Mo seemed to be driving it, using only a small, soft-looking wheel! Impossible! And it moved so fast...he felt like he was flying!

 

Then again, flying would probably be much smoother; the cart was bouncing around all over the place. Farid sighed; he would never be able to sleep now. Not like the old woman with the acid tongue, who appeared to be dozing quite peacefully.

 

Farid would have no such luck. Now that he was awake, he could feel an uncomfortable pressure in his gut, like he had drunk a lot of water and hadn’t pissed it out. That said, he couldn’t remember the last time he had gone...sometime last night, at least, in his own world. Son of a snake.

 

Nervously, he glanced around at everyone. Mo was concentrating on the road; it wouldn’t do to bother him. Besides, he was all the way in the front, and so was Meggie. Anyway, there was no way Farid would tell a girl about his dilemma. That definitely ruled out the gray-haired witch, which left the lean blond man beside him. He was staring out at the blurred trees they passed, his eyes distant and lost. He hadn’t even seemed to notice Farid’s head, which had been resting against his leg.

 

Something about the man frightened Farid, but he was intrigued, too, if he was honest with himself. That wouldn’t make talking to him easier...but his body couldn’t wait.

 

“Dustfinger?” he whispered, tugging on the ragged sleeve of the man’s long coat.

The man jumped when Farid spoke, and pulled away from him roughly. “What?” he asked, a slight tint of irritation in his husky voice.

Farid felt himself go red as he stared at his feet. “Um...I...I have to...um….”

Luckily, Dustfinger seemed to understand. “I’m not surprised. Silvertongue!” he said to Mo. “The boy needs to, ah, relieve himself, so….”

“The nearest rest stop isn’t for another three hours or so,” Mo replied. “Farid, how badly do you need to go?”

“Uh….” Farid paused, considering. The pressure in his bladder was steadily growing, almost to the point of being unbearable. “I can’t really hold it.”

In the front, Meggie suddenly flushed pink. “Mo, I...I need to go, too,” she said softly. “Sorry.”

Mo whistled, running a hand through his dark hair. “Well. This could be a problem.” He sighed then, turning to look at Farid. “You really can’t hold it at all?”

Farid shook his head miserably.

“Look, just pull over,” Dustfinger suggested. “If they need to go that badly, they can do it in the bushes-”

“No way!” Meggie exclaimed.

“You can wait, princess, if it makes you feel better,” the scarred man snapped. “But the boy can’t. Do you want him to piss himself?”

“That is absolutely disgusting!” Elinor cried, choosing possibly the worst time to wake up. “Have you no decency whatsoever?”

Dustfinger just shrugged.

“Of course not,” Elinor sniffed. “Silly me; I don’t know what I was thinking!”

“But he’s right!” Farid hissed. He was starting to get desperate. “Please, I’ll go in the bushes, but-”

“Alright,” Mo said gently. “That’s perfectly fine, Farid.”

 

X X X 

 

Mo slowed the vehicle to a stop at the side of the road, beside a cluster of elderberry bushes. Farid wasted no time; he bolted out the door as fast as he could. After a moment, Meggie followed him.

 

“I’ll wait until you’re done,” she told him. Seemingly embarrassed about the situation, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Farid stared, fascinated, at the golden strand, but then he shook himself. “Thanks,” he replied, feeling his face get hot again.

Quickly, he ducked behind the bushes, avoiding Meggie’s eyes. Resolving not to give her (and her beautiful hair) another thought, he pulled off his short trousers and went, sighing gratefully when the burning pressure in his abdomen ceased. When he finished, he left the grove and turned his back, trying desperately not to picture Meggie’s bare legs as she did her business.


	5. 2:50 p.m.- Gwin Found Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting, romance, and feathers galore....

On the Road Chapter 5: 2:50 p.m.- Gwin Found Lunch

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mo climbed out of the van and cast a cursory glance at the clear blue sky above. “This is as good a spot as any to take a little stretch break,” he suggested, raising his voice slightly so the entirety of the party could hear.

 

Dustfinger bolted out of the van immediately, as though he couldn’t bear to be trapped in that closed space for a moment longer. Conversely, Elinor moved at a considerably more sedate pace; nevertheless, she still uttered an audible oath of thanks when she moved to stand in the sunlight.

 

“Well, that was bloody wonderful,” she grumbled, stretching to crack her cramped spine. “And to think, we’ll have to put up with this discomfort all night long!”

Mo sighed, gazing at her morosely. “Elinor, I’m so sorry you had to be dragged into this. It’s all my fault, and now you-”

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, Mortimer, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” she snapped. “As trying as this whole ordeal has been, it was, admittedly, an adventure. Besides, if there’s anyone at fault for this mess, it’s that dreadful Capricorn! That man deserves to burn in Hell for what he did to my books! And what self-respecting villain allows his men to utilize such execrable vehicles for transportation? It’s absurd!”

Mo had to smile; he could never keep a bad temper around Elinor for long. Her own biliousness and sharp wit more than made up for any irritability on his part. “I honestly don’t think that the comfort of his men poses any concern to Capricorn,” he mused, running in place briefly to let blood flow to his numb legs.

“Oh, very well, then,” Elinor sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing to do about it. I shall simply have to resign myself to a night of suffering.”

“As long as you don’t take your pain out on the rest of us, you can suffer as much as you like,” he quipped, grinning slightly as Elinor let out an annoyed huff.

 

X X X 

 

“Where are Meggie and the boy?” Elinor asked after a while. “I daresay it shouldn’t take this long for them to relieve themselves.”

“You’re right,” Mo muttered, staring at the cluster of elderberry bushes that the two had disappeared behind. “Meggie?” he called. “Farid? Are you two alright back there?”

“We’re fine!” Meggie shouted back. there was an odd note in her voice, though, and Mo was not entirely convinced.

 

A moment later, the two emerged from the bushes, looking decidedly flustered. Meggie was blushing fiercely, while Farid fidgeted awkwardly with his short vest. Both were breathing just a bit too hard.

 

Mo saw all of this, and became immediately suspicious. “There you are,” he exclaimed, examining Meggie’s expression closely. “We were beginning to worry.”

“Indeed.” Elinor, it seemed, had also noticed the disheveled state of the two adolescents. “What were you two doing back there? It was obviously quite intriguing.”

“We...uh..we…” Farid stammered nervously. “Um….”

“Nothing!” Meggie cut in hastily. “We were just...you know….”

“Right…” Mo drawled, unconvinced. They were most definitely not doing nothing, he thought. What could they have possibly...what would make them that embarrassed?

 

X X X 

 

“I think he knows,” Farid murmured, too quietly for anyone but Meggie to hear.

“He’d better not!” she replied, horrified. “Why did you do that, anyway?”

The boy’s face fell at once. “Didn’t you like it?”

“No!” Meggie burst out. Then, she shook her head vigorously. “I mean...yes...I….

“Look,” she sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I liked it or not, you shouldn’t have kissed me! Why would you even-”

“Because...I-don’t-know.” The Arab hung his head in shame, his dark curls hiding his red face. When he had turned around in time to see Meggie redressing, lit beautifully by the wan autumn sun, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. She had looked so strong, and fierce, and lovely, and his lips had been on hers without a second thought. Only now did he realize that what he had done might have been inexcusably wrong. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s...it’s fine.” Meggie’s golden voice brooked no argument. “Just...don’t do it again.” Suddenly, though, her iridescent blue eyes filled with mischief. “Between you and me, though…” and here she winked, “you aren’t a bad kisser.”

 

X X X 

 

It was really for the best that neither Mo nor Elinor had overheard that conversation. Instead, their attentions were once again vested on the bushes and trees beside the road, which stood silent and stately, with only the faintest breath of wind setting their leaves to rustling.

 

“Where has that damned matchstick-eater gotten to?” Elinor wondered aloud. “He ought to have been back by now, too.”

“He’s probably close by,” Mo assured her. “He knows we can’t yet afford to stop for long.”

 

Sure enough, the piercing sound of a sharp whistle echoed through the dense foliage a moment later, and Mo cast Elinor a triumphant glance. 

“There, you see? I told you he’d be close.” Shrugging off Elinor’s rather venomous glare, he turned back to the trees. “Dustfinger!” he shouted. “Come on; we need to head out!”

The fire-eater remained silent, but that wasn’t altogether surprising. Mo trusted him to make it back to the van in a timely fashion, so he turned around again, prepared to slide back into the driver’s seat.

 

Therefore, the shout was so entirely unexpected that he almost hit his head on the doorframe form shock. Meggie, Elinor, and Farid were no less surprised, turning to stare at the woods with identical looks of bewilderment on their faces.

 

“GWIN! You wretch-! No, get that away from me, you- shite-! STOP! ‘Sblood, I don’t want your bloody bird- damn it- GWIN! ENOUGH!”

 

X X X 

 

Everyone at the roadside exchanged slow glances. Meggie looked shocked, Elinor looked...affronted, to say the least, Farid seemed both perturbed and impressed, and Mo...he wasn’t sure if he ought to shake his head in annoyance or laugh.

 

“What on Earth was that?” Elinor breathed. “I swear, I’ll tan that man’s hide!”

“You’ll have to wash his mouth out with soap first,” Mo deadpanned, barely managing to conceal a smirk.

“Well, get in line, then.” The closeness of Dustfinger’s rough voice startled them all. “Likely you’re not the only one.”

 

Four pairs of curious eyes trained themselves on the fire-eater as he stalked silently out of the wood. He was rather the worse for wear: his face was pale and slightly damp, and he looked as though he’d rather not remain standing for a moment longer. There were feathers in his ruffled hair, and light red blood, barely dry, drew tracks down his forehead. To put it bluntly, he looked terrible. 

 

“You look a sight,” Mo remarked, concerned. “What happened to you?”

“I had to go see a man about a dog,” Dustfinger replied, sarcasm dripping from his every word. Evidently, whatever he had done had not softened his dry wit in the slightest.

“Why are you covered in feathers?” Farid asked suddenly; softly, as if he were embarrassed about speaking the question.

 

At that moment, Gwin emerged from beneath the bushes, looking inordinately pleased with himself. A limp, bloody sparrow hung from his jaws, and as he climbed up Dustfinger’s leg and body to settle himself in the man’s backpack, more blood trickled from the poor bird’s throat, speckling the fire-eater’s clothes with a sickly red.

 

“Oh, my….” Elinor quickly averted her eyes from the ghastly sight, and Meggie turned away, gagging slightly. 

Farid stared at the dead bird with a sort of perverse fascination. “Wow,” he whispered.

Mo rolled his eyes. “Gwin found lunch,” he muttered. “Okay...that’s disgusting.”

“Take it away from him, please!” Meggie begged weakly.

“Yes,” Mo said firmly. “We definitely don’t need that thing in the van.”

Dustfinger shrugged. “I tried,” he sighed. “Obviously, it didn’t work.”

 

From the backpack, a faint crunching sound could be heard, and Meggie went white again. Even Mo felt a bit sick at that. 

 

Dustfinger closed his eyes briefly, as if in pain. “Gods, no,” he muttered. “Stop that. Stop it right now.”

“Is he chewing against your back?” Farid asked, seemingly the only one unaffected by the sight of Gwin’s unfortunate snack.

 

Safe to say, that statement disturbed everyone, and the short walk back to the van was made in shaky silence, broken only by the sounds of footsteps, breathing, and the crunch of the sparrow.


	6. 3:00 p.m.- I Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Father-daughter time and a geeky, cheeky Mo. It doesn't get much better than that, folks.

At the very least, the landscape was interesting. It made a...noble effort at compensating for the dull silence within the van.

 

The rational part of Meggie knew that boredom should be the last thing on her mind at this point...but such a heavy silence tended to outweigh rationality. The more distance the van put between itself and Capricorn’s village, the farther the horrors that had occurred there drifted from her mind. It was all too easy to believe that they were actually safe, that Capricorn’s men wouldn’t come looking for them. Certainly the peace of the surrounding area did much to advance that illusion. If she closed her eyes and stretched her mind but a little, she could almost imagine that this was just another trip with Mo...Elinor’s renewed snoring notwithstanding.

 

With a soft sigh, Meggie turned back to stare out the window. No...she couldn’t imagine that; trips with Mo were never this deathly quiet. They were always punctuated by their banter, Mo’s quirky trivia...perhaps even some word games….

 

“Are you alright, Meggie?” Mo asked, giving her a concerned glance. “You’ve been sighing.”

“I’m fine,” she replied. Then, she added in a lower voice, “Just...a bit bored, I suppose.”

Mo said nothing for a while; he seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, he turned and winked at her, a mischievous smile on his rugged face. “I spy with my little eye,” he began, “something...blue.”

Meggie had to grin; her father always knew exactly what to do to dispel any on-the-road boredom. “Something blue…” she mused. “The sky?”

Mo sighed, laughing slightly. “All right,” he said teasingly. “That one was too easy.”

Meggie giggled softly. “Well, you never know. It could have been...your shirt, or my pants, or Farid’s turban….”

“True,” he said thoughtfully. “But it was the sky. I could have changed it at the last second,” he added, “but I didn’t think it was worth it.”

“Oh, stop it!” she exclaimed. “You know that’s cheating! Anyway, it’s my turn. Let’s see...I spy with my little eye….”

 

X X X 

 

The two-way game went on for a while. None of the others made any signs of wanting to join in, so Mo and Meggie let them be, opting instead to try and veritably stump the other. Each had a strategy: Mo would pick the most obscure things he could find, while Meggie picked common colors, creating a greater number of possibilities. It had been a long time since they had played this game, perhaps several months, and Meggie had quite forgotten how stimulating it could be.

 

“I spy with my little eye, something yellow,” Mo said, smiling.

Meggie looked around carefully. “Is it my hair?” she asked. 

Mo shook his head. “Guess again.”

“The sun.”

“Not even close.”

“Um...Dustfinger’s hair?”

“Still no.”

Meggie frowned, and glanced surreptitiously at her striped stockings.

“It’s not in the van, Meggie, if that helps,” Mo told her, his smile secret.

“Not in the van?” Grateful for the hint, she turned her gaze outside. “Is it a yellow leaf?”

“No.”

“A bird? Or a butterfly?”

“Negative, and non placet.” Mo raised his eyebrows. “Give up yet?”

Meggie sighed and shot him a reproachful glare. “Fine,” she admitted. “What was it?”

“A rock,” he replied, his eyes gleaming.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she groaned.

Mo shook his head. “I’m completely serious. Back there, see?” He gestured with his chin; when Meggie nodded, he grinned. “Sandstone. Clear quartz mixes with the amber feldspar in sand to give it that color.”

“Not fair,” she grumbled, only half-serious. 

Mo shrugged. “Well, it was there. Fair game, Meggie. Your turn.” He gave her a teasing smirk. “Try to really confound me, okay?”

“Okay. I spy with my little eye, something...red.”

“The berries on the holly bush to your right,” he said immediately.

Meggie stared at the bush, astonished. “How….” she exclaimed, trailing off in consternation.

Mo shrugged again, obviously amused. “instinct. Besides, you looked over at it as we passed.”

 

Of course she had done that. With a defeated sigh, she ran a hand through her hair and turned wide, pleading eyes on Mo. “Can we just accept the fact that I’m bloody awful at this game?”

“Where did you learn to talk like that?” Mo asked sternly, effectively ignoring her plea.

Meggie cast a guilty glance towards the back seat. “Um….”

Mo sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. “Elinor and Dustfinger,” he muttered “Of course. Don’t swear like that, Meggie, please. It doesn’t reflect well on you or me.”

Meggie dropped her eyes to her lap, contrite. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I...it just sort of...slipped out.”

“It happens to the best of us.” Mo’s eyes were still serious, but his voice once again held that teasing note that Meggie so loved. “You were a bit justified, perhaps; I could tell you were getting frustrated. Still, that was a good match.” Suddenly, though, he shifted his gaze to the window, craning his neck slightly to catch a glimpse of…something. “Hold on a moment, Meggie; I’ve got one more for you. I spy with my little eye, something purple.”

“Purple?” More than a little surprised by the odd color choice, she, too, turned to look outside. “I don’t see anything,” she said after a time. “What was it?”

Mo’s grey-blue eyes were positively glowing with mirth, the solemnity banished for now. “It was a razor, nailed to tree.”

“What?” Meggie stared at him, unsure if he was joking or not. “Where did you see that?!”

...And Mo’s laughter rang out soundly through the van as it drove on and on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Father-daughter time! You gotta love Meggie and Mo…and Mo’s geek moments.
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> I offer my sincere apologies; I know they were extremely OOC. For some reason, I find them very difficult to write.
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> A note on language: I imagine that Mo, who is a rather quiet, gentlemanly individual, wouldn’t really approve of swearing, particularly if it’s his daughter that does it. If he seemed to overreact, I think it’s only because he knows he raised her to be better than that.
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> I Spy is a really fun game to play on a road trip, and...Mo’s definitely not the only one who cheats. I do it all the time; it’s really kind of fun.


End file.
